Monitoring liquid and/or food consumption of a person

ABSTRACT

Presented are concepts for monitoring the liquid or food consumption of a person. Once such concept employs the step of detecting a change in weight of the person resultant from usage of a toilet. A value representative of at least one of liquid consumption and food consumption of the person may then be determined based on the detected change in weight of the person.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO PRIOR APPLICATIONS

This application is the U.S. National Phase application under 35 U.S.C.§ 371 of International Application No. PCT/EP2016/056476 filed on Mar.24, 2016, which claims the benefit of European Patent Application No.15163083.7, filed on Apr. 10, 2015. These applications are herebyincorporated by reference in their entirety herein.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to a method of monitoring liquid and/or foodconsumption of a person.

The invention further relates to computer program product forimplementing the method and systems for performing the method.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Functional assessment or monitoring of a person's health status,physical abilities, mental abilities, or recuperation after injury,hospitalization and treatment is of primary concern in most branches ofmedicine, including geriatrics, rehabilitation and physical therapy,neurology and orthopaedics, nursing and elder care.

Investigations have found that an individual's functional ability isactually environment-specific, since function increases when subjectsare in familiar surroundings due to reduced confusion. Also, one-timeassessment of function does not allow for assessment of variability offunctional performance over the course of a day or several days, nordoes it allow for assessment of change which is important in determiningthe adequacy of certain clinical services and treatments (such asrehabilitation) following functional loss.

A consensus therefore exists that it is preferable to assess or monitorindependent functioning of a person at their home or within familiarsurroundings.

A level of independent function is commonly indicated by the quality inwhich Activities of Daily Living (ADLs) are performed. ADLs refer to themost common activities that people perform during a day. Therefore, areduced quality in the ADLs can be an indicator for care needed. Forexample, an anomaly in the regular performance of one or more ADLs canserve as warning for special attention.

Devices and systems have been developed to monitor the ADLs ofindividuals as they live independently in their own home or withinfamiliar surroundings. For example, one such known system for detectingactivities of daily living of a person system comprises three maincomponents: (i) a sensor system that collects information about theperson's activities and behaviours; (ii) an intelligence (or informationprocessing) system that interprets the sensor signals for determinationof ADL behaviour; and (iii) a user interface system that enables caregivers to inspect the interpreted (processed) information. Theintelligence system typically makes use of computational techniquesknown in the art as artificial intelligence. The system may be supportedby conventional technologies for data collection, transmission, andstorage.

In practice, however, a major difficulty is encountered by the widerange of variations that can happen in actual care cases. Since thereare so many possible circumstances, situations and contexts that canoccur in daily life, it is common to employ numerous sensors in anattempt to capture enough information about a person's activities toenable identification of specific activities.

The ever-increasing complexity in striving to cover all possiblecontexts and situations requires more elaborate and detailed informationto be collected, processed, interpreted and/or communicated.

Furthermore, scenarios can result in sensor signals that are indicativeof an activity, such as eating/drinking for example, even though theactivity has not been undertaken. Thus, despite being complex andcostly, conventional ADL monitoring concepts can exhibit low accuracy.This is particularly the case for the ADL of eating/drinking becausethere are lots of scenarios that may be indicative of a monitored personeating/drinking whilst not actually guaranteeing that the person hasindeed consumed liquid and/or food.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The invention aims to at least partly fulfil the aforementioned needs.To this end, the invention provides systems and methods as defined inthe independent claims. The dependent claims provide advantageousembodiments.

Proposed is the concept of inferring the liquid and/or food consumptionof a person from their change in weight that results from their use of atoilet. Put another way, determination of liquid or food consumption ofa person may be based on the weight of their excretions. By detecting aperson's change in weight resultant from a single visit to the toilet,the weight of excreted matter may be inferred and, from this,food/liquid consumption may be determined. Thus, there is proposed theconcept of measuring the weight loss of a person resulting from a toiletvisit. The measured weight loss may be used to infer liquid or foodconsumption of the person, and this may be undertaken in relation tonumerous toilet visits so as to enable monitoring of the person's liquidor food consumption over time. Furthermore, previously determined values(e.g. cumulative weight losses) for a predetermined timeframe (e.g. aday) may be used to estimate food and/or liquid consumption of a currentand/or preceding timeframe. In other words, weight measurements can beindicative of consumption that has occurred previously, and timedelays/differences between consumption and weight measurement(s) maydepend on the type of food or liquid consumed (due to digestionproperties, for example).

The value representative of the change in weight of a person as a resultof the persons use of the toilet is related to the weight of the personbefore and after a single usage of the toilet (10) and this can bedetermined from detecting the change in weight of the person based onthe detected weight of the person before and after the single usage ofthe toilet.

The processing device is able to obtain (e.g. receive) a valuerepresentative of the change in weight, or is able to provide such valueform other data related to weight change of a person resultant from atoilet visit. The latter data can be raw weight data of a person beforeand after the toilet visit. Preferably such latter data are obtainedwithin 1 hour before or 1 hour after the toilet visit, but morepreferably, such time periods before and after the toilet visit areindividually or both less than 30 minutes, less than 15 minutes, lessthan 5 minutes, less than 1 minute.

Liquid or food consumption of a person may therefore be inferred at asingle location (e.g. a toilet) using a single sensor (e.g. weightscale). This may help to reduce associated cost and/or complexity of anADL monitoring system. For example, conventional ADL monitoring systemsmay be adapted to detect or monitor eating and drinking by employingsensors installed on a refrigerator (e.g. an open-close sensor), sensorsinstalled in cupboards/drawers holding cutlery/food, power sensors oncooking equipment, presence sensors for detecting a user's presence inkitchen; a pressure sensor installed in a seat of a dining table, etc.Conversely, embodiments may avoid the need for multiple sensors (andcomplex signal processing of their respective signals) and may insteadsimply employ a single weight sensing arrangement.

The method and system can be for monitoring activities of daily living.Activities of daily living concern basic activities that a personexecutes on a regular basis. Examples of activities of daily living aredrinking/eating; cooking; medicating; sleeping; toileting; bathing;washing, any kind of exercising such as walking, leisure activities suchas reading or TV watching and many more etc. Thus, the invention mayprovide a way to monitor the ADL of drinking/eating in a simple and easyto implement manner.

The method, system or data processing unit may be adapted to determine avalue representative of at least one of liquid consumption and foodconsumption of the person further based on at least one of: a valuerepresentative of weight lost by perspiration of the person; a valuerepresentative of weight lost by respiration of the person; a valuerepresentative of reference weight; one or more previously detectedvalues of weight of the person; one or more previously detected changesin weight of the person; and one or more previously determined valuesrepresentative of preceding liquid or food consumption of the person.

The reference weight can be determined once or periodically and storedfor use in the method and system. The reference weight can be an averageweight determined over time.

Thus, previously determined values representative of liquid or foodconsumption of the person may therefore be stored, in a database forexample, and then used in subsequent calculations. Furthermore,currently calculated values representative of liquid or food consumptionmay be used to re-calculate or refine previously determined valuesrepresentative of liquid or food consumption (e.g. those stored indatabase for example).

In the method or the system, the value representative of the at leastone of the liquid consumption and the food consumption of the person isequal to, or is further based on the sum of:

the current value of representative of the change in weight of theperson;

the value representative of the reference weight;

the value representative of weight lost by perspiration of the person

If the value is further based on these sum terms, other terms or factorscan be used for further refinement of the value.

Alternatively, the value Win representative of at least one of liquidconsumption and food consumption of the person is thus obtained as:Win=Wst+Wex+Wil, wherein Wst is a value representative of weight storedby the person, Wex is the determined change in weight of the person, andWil is a value representative of weight lost by perspiration of theperson.

The weight sensing system may be adapted to detect the weight of theperson before and after a single usage of the toilet and to determinethe change in weight of the person based on the detected weight of theperson before and after the single usage of the toilet.

The method and system or the data processing unit may be adapted to beable to compare the determined value representative of at least one ofliquid consumption and food consumption with a threshold value and togenerate a warning signal if the determined value exceeds the firstthreshold value. The threshold can be preprogramed and fixed, but ispreferably also enabled to be set by a user preference. Further, thethreshold may be based on previously determined values representative ofliquid/food consumption of the person. The threshold may be based on atleast one of: one or more previously detected changes in weight of theperson; and one or more previously detected values of weight of theperson. In other words, the threshold may be defined by taking accountof a history of detected values and/or a history of liquid/foodconsumption of the person so that it can be used to identify outlyingvalues or anomalies (using trend analysis, for example).

Also, the threshold may be enabled to be set to act on a person to bemonitored or act on a group of persons to be monitored.

The method, system or data processing unit may be further adapted togenerate a control signal for modifying a graphical element based on thedetermined value representative of at least one of liquid consumptionand food consumption of the person. Further, the ADL monitoring systemmay further comprise a display system adapted to display the graphicalelement in accordance with the control signal generated by the dataprocessing unit. In this way, a user (such as a care giver) may have anappropriately arranged display system that can receive and displayinformation about the ADL of eating or drinking of a person, and thatperson may be remotely located from the user. Embodiments may thereforeenable a user to remotely monitor the liquid or food consumption of aperson using a portable display device, such as a laptop, tabletcomputer, mobile phone, PDA, etc.

The data processing unit may be remotely located from the weight sensingsystem, and a signal representative of the determined change in weightof the person may be communicated to the data processing unit via acommunication link. The communication link can be any knowncommunication link for wired and/or wireless communication of data. Itmay be a secured communication link.

Thus, it will be understood that processing capabilities may thereforebe distributed throughout the system in different ways according topredetermined constraints and/or availability of processing resources.

The system may comprise a server device comprising the data processingunit and a communication link; the server device being capable ofcommunication through the communication link with a client device whichdevice may or may not include the weight sensing system. The clientdevice can be part of the system, but this is not needed. In these casesthe server device is able to obtain the relevant data relating to theweight change of the person when he has used the toilet. From these datathe server determines the food and/or liquid consumption. The relevantdata can e.g. be raw weight data or can be pre-processed data in theform of the value representative of the weight as described with respectto the main independent claim herein before. Such setup can enablecentral data processing for a multitude of data sources (clients). Thus,the data can come from multiple toilets in one home, or multiple toiletsin multiple homes to be processed in one server with one or more(distributed) data processors. This can keep clients simple and cheap.

Alternatively, the system may comprise a client device comprising thedata processing unit and a communication link; the client device beingcapable of communication through the communication link with a serverdevice. The server device can be part of the system, but this is notneeded. In these cases the client device is able to obtain the relevantdata relating to the weight change of the person when he has used thetoilet. From these data it determined the food and/or liquidconsumption. The relevant data can e.g. be raw weight data or can bepre-processed data in the form of the value representative of the weightas described with respect to the main independent claim herein before.The client device can include the weight sensing system, but this is notneeded. Such setup is advantageous for using available computing powerlocally. Also not all data need to be transmitted to the server. It maybe only the final food and/or liquid consumption data that aretransmitted to the server or any other device for display of such data.

Dedicated data processing means may therefore be employed for thepurpose of determining a value representative of at least one of liquidconsumption and food consumption of the person, thus reducing processingrequirements or capabilities of other components or devices of thesystem.

The system may further comprise a display system. In other words, a user(such as a care giver) may have an appropriately arranged client device(such as a laptop, tablet computer, mobile phone, PDA, etc.) whichprocesses received data in order to determine a value representative ofat least one of liquid consumption and food consumption of the person.

The weight sensing system may be positioned in the toilet itself formeasuring the weight of the person before and after usage. There is therisk of a person not sitting down for his particular toilet visit. Animportant monitoring opportunity may be lost in that case. Therefore, ina preferred weight sensing system is positioned in front of the toiletso that it is stood on by the person before and after the person's usageof the toilet. In this way, a person need only undertake their normalactivities when using the toilet. Such positioning may ensure that achange in weight of the person can be automatically and accuratelyobtained for each single usage of the toilet (e.g. every time the personuses the toilet), and this may not require the person to remember toundertake any special or additional activities in order for a change inweight determination to be made. This may remove the risk of the personforgetting to activate a weight sensing system (e.g. by pressing abutton), for example.

There exist many sensors that can be employed by an ADL monitoringsystem. Typical sensors include PIR (Passive Infra-Red; measure movementand presence), OC (open-close; measure state of doors, in particularfront doors, windows, and cupboards, including refrigerators), powersensors (measure current consumption of appliances, such as microwave,water cookers, TV, etc), and pressure mats (measure occupancy of usersitting in chair, lying in bed, standing on door mat in front of frontdoor, etc). Many others exist and are conceivable, such as sensors tosignal light switch state, or sensors that measure environmentalconditions such as humidity, CO2 level (or CO and smoke), ParticulateMatter level, etc. A further range of sensors are those based onphysical quantities, such as accelerometers, magnetometers, gyroscopes,and air pressure sensors. Accelerometers, for example, can also measurestate of doors and their open-close movements. Yet another range ofsensors consists of microphones and cameras (including infra-red, oreven UV and beyond, part of spectrum), to which also belong GPS andlocation-sensitive IR. Ultra-sound or RF-based sensors, including RFIDtagging, provide additional input. Appliances having an own IP-address,known as the internet-of-things, provide further sensor input signalsthat can be taken by the smart-home system.

Although the sensor(s) may be mounted in the environment (e.g. theperson's home), they may also be attached to user utilities (such as akeyring) or put in clothes, in a pocket or bag, or as insole orundergarment, etc. They may also be fabricated to be worn explicitlylike a wrist watch or pendant. Further, the sensors may communicatetheir output signals via a wired or wireless connection, or acombination thereof.

The sensors may also be adapted to undertake primary processing of thedetected values, such a signal filtering, sampling, conditioning, etc.,so as to reduce required transmission bandwidth and/or transmissionduration for example. Alternatively, the sensors can send raw data.

Non-intrusive monitoring may therefore be realized with relative simplesensors that provide data on specific ambient conditions orproperties/parameters of the environment (such as temperature orhumidity for example), or properties of the person (such as movement,for example). Such sensors for measuring ambient condition orproperties/parameters of the environment may be simple, small and/orcheap. Also, the movement of the person may be detected with, forexample, a Passive InfraRed (PIR) sensor which is a cheap component.Movement sensors may be used to switch on lighting and people aretherefore typically familiar with their usage.

Thus, ADL monitoring systems of the invention may employ such sensorsthat are considered to be non-intrusive and more easily accepted by themonitored person. Yet, with the data provided by these sensors, ADLs maybe determined and provide information on the person being monitored.

Such sensors may be employed by, or in conjunction with, the weightsensing system so as to increase the number and/or accuracy of monitoredADLs. They may also be used to confirm or qualify readings taken by theweight sensing system, so that spurious or unintentional measurementsare avoided. For example, signals from a location sensor worn by themonitored person may be used to confirm if weight readings taken by theweight sensing system are indeed attributable to the monitored person orsome other person or animal (such as their pet), for example.

There is provided a method for monitoring the liquid or food consumptionof a person, wherein the method comprises: determining a change inweight of the person resultant from usage of a toilet; and

determining a value representative of at least one of liquid consumptionand food consumption of the person based on the detected change inweight of the person.

The step of determining a value representative of at least one of liquidconsumption and food consumption of the person may be further based onat least one of: a value representative of weight lost by perspirationof the person;

a value representative of weight lost by respiration of the person; avalue representative of weight stored by the person; one or morepreviously detected values of weight of the person; one or morepreviously detected changes in weight of the person; and one or morepreviously determined values representative of preceding liquid or foodconsumption of the person.

The step of determining a change in weight of the person may comprise:detecting the weight of the person before and after a single usage ofthe toilet; and determining the change in weight of the person based onthe detected weight of the person before and after the single usage ofthe toilet.

The method may further comprise: comparing the determined valuerepresentative of at least one of liquid consumption and foodconsumption with a threshold value; and generating a warning signalbased on the comparison result.

The method may further comprise the preceding step of: furthercomprising the preceding step of: determining the threshold value basedon at least one of: one or more previously determined valuesrepresentative of preceding liquid or food consumption of the person;one or more previously detected changes in weight of the person; and oneor more previously detected values of weight of the person.

There is provided a computer program product for monitoring the liquidor food consumption of a person, wherein the computer program productcomprises a computer-readable storage medium having computer-readableprogram code embodied therewith, the computer-readable program codeconfigured to perform all of the steps of an embodiment.

A computer system may be provided which comprises: a computer programproduct according to an embodiment; and one or more processors adaptedto perform a method according to an embodiment by execution of thecomputer-readable program code of said computer program product.

In a further aspect the invention relates to a computer-readablenon-transitory storage medium comprising instructions which, whenexecuted by a processing device, execute the steps of the method ofcontrolling an ADL monitoring system display unit according to anembodiment.

These and other aspects of the invention will be apparent from andelucidated with reference to the embodiment(s) described hereinafter.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Examples in accordance with aspects of the invention will now bedescribed in detail with reference to the accompanying schematicdrawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a simplified block diagram of a system for monitoring theliquid or food consumption of a person according to an embodiment;

FIG. 2A depicts detected values of a first person's body weight beforeand after usage of the toiler over the course of six days, wherein thefirst person is known to have a relatively low level of liquid intake(i.e. a low value of liquid consumption);

FIG. 2B depicts detected values of a second person's body weight beforeand after usage of the toiler over the course of six days, wherein thefirst person is known to have a relatively high level of liquid intake(i.e. a high value of liquid consumption);

FIG. 3 depicts an exemplary pattern of weight changes for a person overthe course of a single day;

FIG. 4 is a graph of detected values of liquid intake plotted againstthe detected reduction in bodyweight resulting from a toilet visit forthe persons of FIGS. 2A and 2B;

FIG. 5 is a simplified block diagram of a system according to anembodiment;

FIG. 6 shows a flow diagram of a method for monitoring the liquid orfood consumption of a person according to an embodiment; and

FIG. 7 is a simplified block diagram of a computer within which one ormore parts of an embodiment may be employed.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

Proposed is a concept for inferring the liquid or food consumption of aperson, which may be useful for the purpose of monitoring ADLs of theperson for example. Such persons may, for example, include a disabledperson, an elderly person, an injured person, a medical patient, etc.Elderly persons can mean persons above 65 years, above 70, or above 80years old.

Illustrative embodiments may be utilized in many different types ofmonitoring environments, such as a hospital, ward, care home, person'shome, etc. In order to provide a context for the description of elementsand functionality of the illustrative embodiments, the Figures areprovided hereafter as examples of how aspects of the illustrativeembodiments may be implemented. It should therefore be appreciated theFigures are only examples and are not intended to assert or imply anylimitation with regard to the environments, systems or methods in whichaspects or embodiments of the present invention may be implemented.

In general, to be able to observe changes in “normal” daily behavior ofa person one may monitor ADLs of a person spot unexpected activities,anomalies or deviations from expected patterns. The type of anomaly orirregularity can be different per case.

A large class of anomalies relate to aberrations in an ADL routine ofthe person. For example, an above average number of toilet visits duringthe night.

By way of example, ADLs may include:

(i) Medication

a. Is the elder taking his medicine in proper way at proper moments?

b. Is the elder taking the correct/prescribed medication?

(ii) Sleep

a. Is the elder sleeping sufficiently and undisturbed?

(iii) Eating/Drinking

a. Is the elder eating sufficiently and regularly?

b. Does he prepare meals by himself?

(iv) Physical activity

a. Is the elder active during the day?

b. Is there little sedentary behaviour?

(v) Toileting

a. Is the elder toileting in normal way?

b. Are there frequent visits to the toilet during the night?

(vi) Bathing

a. Is the elder bathing adequately?

(vii) Being In/Out House

a. Is the elder going out?

(xiii) Ambient climate

a. Is the environment “clean”?

b. E.g., is temperature proper, is the CO2 level healthy, is theparticle (PM) level healthy?

(ix) Etc.

Based on the above exemplary ADLs, the following examples of anomalies,irregularities or warnings may relate to:

A. Sign of activity, or sign of inactivity

B. Presence in rooms considered risky (e.g. alone in kitchen when elderis suffering dementia)

C. Leaving the house at unexpected moments, such as during the night

D. Exceptional frequency or exceptional duration of toilet visits

E. Exceptional duration of bathing

F. Sleeping shorter

G. Reduced activity

H. Etc.

Embodiments of the present invention are directed toward enablinginformation about the liquid or food consumption of a person to beobtained and potentially monitored. Such information may therefore beuseful for monitoring ADLs of the person, such as eating/drinking,physical activity and toileting, for example.

Embodiments employ the concept of inferring the liquid or foodconsumption of a person from their change in weight when they use atoilet. In other words, determination of liquid or food consumption of aperson may be based on the weight of their excretions. Measured weightloss resulting from a toilet visit may therefore be used to infer liquidor food consumption of the person, and this may be undertaken inrelation to numerous toilet visits so as to enable monitoring of theperson's liquid or food consumption over time.

Liquid or food consumption of a person can therefore be inferred using asingle sensor (e.g. a weight scale) installed at a single location (e.g.a toilet), thus reducing the burden, cost and/or complexity of a systemaccording to an embodiment. It may also help to ensure toilet visits areaccurately detected, thus improving the accuracy of monitoring results.Such a proposed concept for inferring liquid or food consumption of aperson may therefore be employed in a system for monitoring ADLs of aperson within an environment.

ADL events may be detected or inferred from sensor output signals andthere already exist systems and methods for such ADL detection orinference. Accordingly, the proposed concepts may be used in conjunctionwith existing ADL detection or monitoring systems/methods. For example,Dries Vermeiren et al describe a system based on 2 tri-axialaccelerometers to detect the ADLs of a patient in a paper entitled“Detecting Human Motion: Introducing Step, Fall and ADL algorithms”.Also, H Pirsiavas et al describe algorithms for detecting ADLs infirst-person camera views in paper entitled “Detecting activities ofdaily living in first-person camera views” (CVPR, 2012). Because manysuch ADL detection or monitoring methods/systems are known and any oneor more of these may be employed, detailed description of suchmethods/systems is omitted from this description.

FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of a system according to the inventioncomprising a toilet 10 and weight sensor 20 adapted to determine achange in weight of a person which results from the person's usage ofthe toilet 10.

Here, the weight sensor 20 is situated immediately in front of thetoilet 10 so that it is stood on by the person before and after theperson uses the toilet 10. For example, the weight sensor may beintegrated into flooring which surrounds the front of the toilet 10. Inthis way, a person need only undertake their normal activities whenusing the toilet and may not even be aware that they are standing on aweight sensor and being weighed. Such positioning (in close proximity tothe toilet 10, for example) may ensure that a change in weight of theperson can be automatically and accurately obtained for each singleusage of the toilet (e.g. every time the person uses the toilet) withoutrequiring the person to remember to undertake any special or additionalactivities in order for a change in weight determination to be made. Forexample, it can remove the need for a person to perform a specificadditional action (e.g. pressing a button) in order to activate theweight sensor 20.

The weight sensor 20 comprises a sensing arrangement that is adapted todetermine the weight of a person before and after using the toilet. Morespecifically, the weight sensor 20 detects a value of a person's weightwhen they stand on the sensor 20 on front of the toilet. The weightsensor 20 obtains numerous measurements of the person's weight before,during and after the person they use the toilet.

The weight sensor 20 is adapted to output sensor output signals 200which are representative of the detected value(s) of the person'sweight. Of course, many more sensors may be employed so as to providesignals indicative of the environment and/or the person'smovement/activities. Such additional signals may be useful foridentifying which of the sensor output signals 200 are indicative of theperson's weight before and after usage of the toilet. They may also beused to confirm or qualify values detected by the weight sensor 20, sothat spurious or unintentional measurements are avoided. For example,signals from a location sensor worn by the monitored person may be usedto confirm if weight readings taken by the weight sensor 20 are indeedattributable to the monitored person using the toilet 10, for example.

The weight sensor 20 communicates its output signals 200 via a wired orwireless connection. By way of example, the wireless connection maycomprise a short-to-medium-range communication link. For the avoidanceof doubt, short-to-medium-range communication link may be taken to meana short-range or medium-range communication link having a range of up toaround 100 meters. In short-range communication links designed for veryshort communication distances, signals typically travel from a fewcentimeters to several meters, whereas, in medium-range communicationlinks designed for short to medium communication distances, signalstypically travel up to 100 meters. Examples of short-range wirelesscommunication links are ANT+, Bluetooth, Bluetooth low energy, IEEE802.15.4, ISA100a, Infrared (IrDA), Near Field Communication (NFC),RFID, 6LoWPAN, UWB, Wireless HART, Wireless HD, Wireless USB, ZigBee.Examples of medium-range communication links include Wi-Fi, ISM Band,Z-Wave. Here, the output signals are not encrypted for communication viathe wired or wireless connection in a secured manner. However, it willbe appreciated that, in other embodiment, one or more encryptiontechniques and/or one or more secure communication links may be employedfor the communication of signals in the system.

The system further comprises a data processing unit 110 adapted toreceive the sensor output signals 200, and to determine a value (Win)representative of at least one of liquid consumption and foodconsumption of the person based on the detected change in weight of theperson. For this purpose, the data processing unit 110 may communicatewith one or more data processing resources available in the internet or“cloud” 50. Such data processing resources may undertake part or all ofthe processing required to infer a value (Win) representative of atleast one of liquid consumption and food consumption based on thereceived sensor output signals 200. Thus, the embodiment may employdistributed processing principles.

The data processing unit 110 is further adapted to generate an outputsignal 130 representative of an inferred or detected value (Win)representative of the liquid and/or food consumption of the person. Inother words, after having inferred a value (Win) representative of theliquid and/or food consumption of the based on the received sensoroutput signals (either with or without communicating with dataprocessing resources via the internet or “cloud”), an output signal 130representative of the liquid and/or food consumption of the person isgenerated.

The system further comprises a graphical user interface (GUI) 160 forproviding information to one or more users. The output signal 130 isprovided to the GUI 160 via wired or wireless connection. By way ofexample, the wireless connection may comprise a short-to-medium-rangecommunication link. As indicated in FIG. 1, the output signal 130 isprovided to the GUI 160 from the data processing unit 110. However,where the system, has made use of data processing resources via theinternet or cloud 50), an output signal may be made available to the GUI160 via the internet or cloud 50.

Based on the output signal 130, the GUI 160 is adapted to communicateinformation by displaying one or more graphical elements in a displayarea of the GUI 160. In this way, the system may communicate informationabout liquid and/or food consumption of the person that may be usefulfor indicating that the person is in need of attention. For example, theGUI 160 may be used to display graphical elements to a medicalpractitioner, a caregiver, a family member or close relative.Alternatively, or in addition, the GUI 160 may be adapted to displaygraphical elements to the monitored person.

Referring now to FIGS. 2A and 2B, example toilet behaviour of twodifferent persons (as detected by the system of FIG. 1) is illustratedusing graphs.

The graph of FIG. 2A depicts the detected values of a first person'sbody weight (W) measured in grams before and after usage of the toiletover a time period (t) of six days. The detected values of pre-toiletweight are indicated using a diamond-shaped identifier “⋄”, and detectedvalues of post-toilet weight are indicated using a star-shapedidentifier “*”. The first person is known to have a relatively low levelof liquid intake (i.e. a low value of liquid consumption).

The graph of FIG. 2B depicts the detected values of a second person'sbody weight (W) measure in grams before and after usage of the toiletover the same time period (t) of six days. The detected values ofpre-toilet weight are indicated using a diamond-shaped identifier “⋄”,and detected values of post-toilet weight are indicated using astar-shaped identifier “*”. The second person is known to have arelatively high level of liquid intake (i.e. a high value of liquidconsumption).

From the graphs of FIGS. 2A and 2B, it can be seen that a person'sweight decreases as a direct result of using the toilet. This decreasein bodyweight is assumed to directly relate to the weight of excretedmatter.

From the graphs of FIGS. 2A and 2B, it can also be seen that amount bywhich a person's weight decreases as a direct result of using the toiletis dependent on their liquid intake (e.g. their level of liquidconsumption). In particular, it is noted that, for a single toiletvisit, the person having a relatively high level of liquid intaketypically exhibits a larger decrease/reduction in bodyweight whencompared to the person having a relatively low level of liquid intake(i.e. a low value of liquid consumption. This is seen from the typicallylarger spacing between associated pre-toilet and post-toilet bodyweightvalues of FIG. 2B.

It has been realised that the change in bodyweight resulting from eachtoilet visit can be linked to the eating/drinking behaviour of theperson during the previous day. Further, the liquid consumption and/orfood consumption of the person may be based on other factors including:a value representative of weight lost by perspiration of the person; anda value representative of weight stored by the person.

Using this understanding, the following model/equation (i) can be usedto obtain a value Win representative of at least one of liquidconsumption and food consumption of the person:Win=Wst+Wex+Wil  (i),wherein: Wst is a value representative of weight stored by the person;Wex is the determined change in weight of the person; and Wil is a valuerepresentative of weight lost by perspiration and respiration of theperson.

For example, referring to FIG. 3, there is depicted an exemplary patternof weight changes for a person over the course of a single day. Thethick/bold line represents he variation of a person's bodyweight due tofood/drink intake, toileting and insensible weight loss (due toperspiration for example) and weight storage.

If one considers that the insensible weight loss Wil (due toperspiration, for example) can be taken as a constant that is dependenton body size, and environmental conditions (e.g. temperature andhumidity), and that stored weight Wst can be computed by considering theweight changes of the person over three or more days, the value Winrepresentative of liquid/food intake may be assumed to be the maininfluence of the change Wex in bodyweight. Thus, by measuring Wex (thechange in bodyweight resulting from toilet usage), one can infer a valueWin representative of at least one of liquid consumption and foodconsumption of the person.

Referring to FIG. 4, there is depicted a graph showing values of liquidintake (measured in grams and denoted “Lgr”) plotted against theassociated reduction in bodyweight (measure in grams and denoted “Tgr”)resulting from a toilet visit for the persons of FIGS. 2A and 2B. Valuesfor the first person are indicated using a star-shaped identifier “*”,and values for the second person are indicated using a circle-shapedidentifier “∘”. For the plotted values of FIG. 4, a generally linearcorrelation is exhibited, wherein the linear correlation coefficient isdetermined as being 0.87. A strong correlation between (zero calories)liquid intake and excretion is therefore noted, thus supporting theconcept that excretion values (e.g. Wex the change in bodyweightresulting from toilet usage) can be used to estimate the liquid and/orfood intake of the person that preceded. For example, using regressiontechniques, recent eating/drinking can be inferred from a detectedweight loss resulting from using the toilet. Further, values of detectedweight loss may be stored and/or accumulated for a plurality of toiletvisits, and such accumulated values may be used for the purpose ofimproving the accuracy of inferred or calculated values representativeof eating/drinking behaviour.

Embodiments may cater for more complex relationships between liquid/foodconsumption and change in bodyweight resultant from toilet usage byaccounting for additional factors or parameters. Such additional factorsmay account for varying digesting time of different foods, for example,which can result in ‘blur’ in the weight changes.

Stored weight Wst may therefore be modelled as a combination of futureexcretion and energy storage. By modelling this, the inverted transferfunction can be ‘de-blurred’, for example, in the form of a KalmanFilter.

Also, previously determined values representative of liquid or foodconsumption of the person may be stored, in a database for example, andthen used in current or subsequent calculations.

Thus, by storing previous detected changes in weight and/or trackingactivity levels, temperature, etc. of the person, estimates of excretiondue to metabolism and/or body temperature regulation can be compensatedfor in the data processing process.

Furthermore, currently calculated values representative of liquid orfood consumption may be used to re-calculate or refine previouslydetermined values representative of liquid or food consumption (e.g.those stored in database for example).

Referring now to FIG. 5, there is depicted another embodiment of asystem according to the invention comprising a weight sensing system 510adapted to determine a change in weight of the person resultant fromusage of a toilet.

Here, the weight sensing system 510 comprises a high-resolution weightscale adapted to be integrated into a toilet (for example, within thetoilet seat). The weight sensing system 510 is adapted to output one ormore signals which are representative of the detected value(s) of aperson's weight at least before and after using the toilet.

Although this embodiment has been described as integrating the weightsensing system 510 into the toilet, it will be understood that, inalternative embodiments, the weight sensing system 510 may be providedseparately from the toilet such that it requires a person to be aware ofthe weight sensing system 510 and actively use the weight sensing system510 before and after using the toilet. Such an alternative arrangementmay avoid the need for additional sensors (to confirm or qualify valuesdetected by the weight sensing system, for example) and thus be moresimple and/or cheaper. For example, instead of being integrated into thetoilet, the weight sensing system may be positioned at the entrance ordoorway leading to the toilet so as to measuring a person's weight uponentering and leaving the room. Further, where multiple toilet locationsare provided (e.g. on first and second floors, etc.), multiple weightsensing systems may be employed and the measurements combined.

The weight sensing system 510 communicates the output signals via theInternet 520 (using a wired or wireless connection for example) to aremotely located data processing system 530 (such as server).

The data processing system 530 is adapted to receive the one or moreoutput signals from the weight sensing system 510 and process thereceived signal(s) in accordance with an inference/detection algorithmin order to infer/determine a value representative of liquid/foodconsumption of the person based on the determined change in weight ofthe person. The data processing system 530 is further adapted togenerate output signals representative of inferred or detected valuerepresentative of liquid/food consumption. Thus, the data processing 530provides a centrally accessible processing resource that can receiveinformation from the weight sensing system and run one or morealgorithms to transform the received information into one or more valuesrepresentative of liquid/food consumption. Information relating to theone or more values representative of liquid/food consumption can bestored by the data processing system (for example, in a database) andprovided to other components of the system. Such provision ofinformation about detected or inferred liquid/food consumption may beundertaken in response to a receiving a request (via the internet 520for example) and/or may be undertaken without request (i.e. ‘pushed’).

For the purpose of receiving information about detected or inferredliquid/food consumption from the data processing system, and thus toenable liquid/food consumption to be monitored, the system furthercomprises first 540 and second 550 mobile computing devices.

Here, the first mobile computing device 540 is a mobile telephone device(such as a smartphone) with a display for displaying graphical elementsrepresentative of liquid/food consumption. The second mobile computingdevice 550 is a mobile computer such as a Laptop or Tablet computer witha display for displaying graphical elements representative ofliquid/food consumption.

The data processing system 530 is adapted to communicate output signalsto the first 540 and second 550 mobile computing devices via theinternet 520 (using a wired or wireless connection for example). Asmentioned above, this may be undertaken in response to receiving arequest from the first 540 or second 550 mobile computing devices.

Based on the received output signals, the first 540 and second 550mobile computing devices are adapted to display one or more graphicalelements in a display area provided by their respective display. Forthis purpose, the first 540 and second 550 mobile computing devices eachcomprise a software application for processing, decrypting and/orinterpreting received output signals in order to determine how todisplay graphical elements. Thus, the first 540 and second 550 mobilecomputing devices each comprise a processing arrangement adapted to oneor more values representative of liquid/food consumption, and togenerate a display control signal for modifying at least one of thesize, shape, position, orientation, pulsation or colour of the graphicalelement based on the one or more values representative of liquid/foodconsumption.

The system can therefore communicate information about inferred ordetected liquid/food consumption to users of the first 540 and second550 mobile computing devices. For example, each of the first 540 andsecond 550 mobile computing devices may be used to display graphicalelements to a medical practitioner, a caregiver, a family member orclose relative.

Implementations of the system of FIG. 5 may vary between: (i) asituation where the data processing system 530 communicatesdisplay-ready liquid/food consumption data, which may for examplecomprise display data including graphical elements (e.g. in JPEG orother image formats) that are simply displayed to a user of a mobilecomputing device using conventional image or webpage display (which canbe web based browser etc.); to (ii) a situation where the dataprocessing system 530 communicates raw data set information that thereceiving mobile computing device then processes to determine one ormore values representative of liquid/food consumption, and then displaysgraphical elements based on the determined one or more values (forexample, using local software running on the mobile computing device).Of course, in other implementations, the processing may be sharedbetween the data processing system 530 and a receiving mobile computingdevice such that part of the data generated at data processing system530 is sent to the mobile computing device for further processing bylocal dedicated software of the mobile computing device. Embodiments maytherefore employ server-side processing, client-side processing, or anycombination thereof.

Further, where the data processing system 530 does not ‘push’information (e.g. output signals), but rather communicates informationin response to receiving a request, the user of a device making such arequest may be required to confirm or authenticate their identity and/orsecurity credentials in order for the information to be communicated.

Referring now to FIG. 6, there is shown a flow diagram of a method 600for monitoring the liquid or food consumption of a person.

The method begins with step 610 in which a change in weight of theperson resultant from usage of a toilet is determined. Specifically, thestep 610 of determining a change in weight of the person comprises thesub-steps of: detecting 612 the weight of the person before and after asingle usage of the toilet; and determining 614 the change in weight ofthe person based on the detected weight of the person before and afterthe single usage of the toilet.

Next, in step 620, a value representative of at least one of liquidconsumption and food consumption of the person is determined based onthe detected change in weight of the person. Here, the step 620 ofgenerating a value representative of at least one of liquid consumptionand food consumption of the person is further based on: a valuerepresentative of weight lost by perspiration of the person; and a valuerepresentative of weight stored by the person. More specifically, thevalue (Win) representative of at least one of liquid consumption andfood consumption of the person is obtained using the following equation(i):Win=Wst+Wex+Wil  (i),wherein Wst is a value representative of weight stored by the person,Wex is the determined change in weight of the person, and Wil is a valuerepresentative of weight lost by perspiration of the person.

Then, in step 630, the determined value (Win) representative of at leastone of liquid consumption and food consumption is compared with apredetermined threshold value. The threshold value can be preprogramed,fixed or dynamically set in response to calculations based on one ormore previously obtained values (e.g. using trend analysis), but ispreferably also enabled to be set by a user preference. Thus, thethreshold may be based on previously determined values representative ofliquid/food consumption of the person. In other words, the threshold maybe defined by taking account of a history of liquid/food consumption ofthe person and/or taking account of previous calculations so that it canbe used to identify outlying values or anomalies. Other methods todetect outliers or to detect changes in a time series are known in theart.

If, in step 630, the value (Win) representative of at least one ofliquid consumption and food consumption is determined to exceed thefirst threshold value, the method proceeds to step 640 wherein a warningsignal is generated and output along with the value (Win) representativeof at least one of liquid consumption and food. If, in step 630, thevalue (Win) representative of at least one of liquid consumption andfood consumption is determined to not exceed the first threshold value,the method proceeds to step 650 wherein the value (Win) representativeof at least one of liquid consumption and food is output without anywarning signal.

Thus, by way of example, by way of example, one or more steps of themethod 600 for monitoring the liquid or food consumption of a person maybe implemented in a portable computing device (such as the smartphone orportable computer shown in FIG. 5) in order to control the display ofgraphical elements on a display.

FIG. 7 illustrates an example of a computer 800 within which one or moreparts of an embodiment may be employed. Various operations discussedabove may utilize the capabilities of the computer 800. For example, oneor more parts of an ADL monitoring system for monitoring the liquid orfood consumption of a person may be incorporated in any element, module,application, and/or component discussed herein.

The computer 800 includes, but is not limited to, PCs, workstations,laptops, PDAs, palm devices, servers, storages, and the like. Generally,in terms of hardware architecture, the computer 800 may include one ormore processors 810, memory 820, and one or more I/O devices 870 thatare communicatively coupled via a local interface (not shown). The localinterface can be, for example but not limited to, one or more buses orother wired or wireless connections, as is known in the art. The localinterface may have additional elements, such as controllers, buffers(caches), drivers, repeaters, and receivers, to enable communications.Further, the local interface may include address, control, and/or dataconnections to enable appropriate communications among theaforementioned components.

The processor 810 is a hardware device for executing software that canbe stored in the memory 820. The processor 810 can be virtually anycustom made or commercially available processor, a central processingunit (CPU), a digital signal processor (DSP), or an auxiliary processoramong several processors associated with the computer 800, and theprocessor 810 may be a semiconductor based microprocessor (in the formof a microchip) or a microprocessor.

The memory 820 can include any one or combination of volatile memoryelements (e.g., random access memory (RAM), such as dynamic randomaccess memory (DRAM), static random access memory (SRAM), etc.) andnon-volatile memory elements (e.g., ROM, erasable programmable read onlymemory (EPROM), electronically erasable programmable read only memory(EEPROM), programmable read only memory (PROM), tape, compact disc readonly memory (CD-ROM), disk, diskette, cartridge, cassette or the like,etc.). Moreover, the memory 820 may incorporate electronic, magnetic,optical, and/or other types of storage media. Note that the memory 820can have a distributed architecture, where various components aresituated remote from one another, but can be accessed by the processor810.

The software in the memory 820 may include one or more separateprograms, each of which comprises an ordered listing of executableinstructions for implementing logical functions. The software in thememory 820 includes a suitable operating system (O/S) 850, compiler 840,source code 830, and one or more applications 860 in accordance withexemplary embodiments. As illustrated, the application 860 comprisesnumerous functional components for implementing the features andoperations of the exemplary embodiments. The application 860 of thecomputer 800 may represent various applications, computational units,logic, functional units, processes, operations, virtual entities, and/ormodules in accordance with exemplary embodiments, but the application860 is not meant to be a limitation.

The operating system 850 controls the execution of other computerprograms, and provides scheduling, input-output control, file and datamanagement, memory management, and communication control and relatedservices. It is contemplated by the inventors that the application 860for implementing exemplary embodiments may be applicable on allcommercially available operating systems.

Application 860 may be a source program, executable program (objectcode), script, or any other entity comprising a set of instructions tobe performed. When a source program, then the program is usuallytranslated via a compiler (such as the compiler 840), assembler,interpreter, or the like, which may or may not be included within thememory 820, so as to operate properly in connection with the O/S 850.Furthermore, the application 860 can be written as an object orientedprogramming language, which has classes of data and methods, or aprocedure programming language, which has routines, subroutines, and/orfunctions, for example but not limited to, C, C++, C#, Pascal, BASIC,API calls, HTML, XHTML, XML, ASP scripts, JavaScript, FORTRAN, COBOL,Perl, Java, ADA, .NET, and the like.

The I/O devices 870 may include input devices such as, for example butnot limited to, a mouse, keyboard, scanner, microphone, camera, etc.Furthermore, the I/O devices 870 may also include output devices, forexample but not limited to a printer, display, etc. Finally, the I/Odevices 870 may further include devices that communicate both inputs andoutputs, for instance but not limited to, a NIC or modulator/demodulator(for accessing remote devices, other files, devices, systems, or anetwork), a radio frequency (RF) or other transceiver, a telephonicinterface, a bridge, a router, etc. The I/O devices 870 also includecomponents for communicating over various networks, such as the Internetor intranet.

If the computer 800 is a PC, workstation, intelligent device or thelike, the software in the memory 820 may further include a basic inputoutput system (BIOS) (omitted for simplicity). The BIOS is a set ofessential software routines that initialize and test hardware atstartup, start the O/S 850, and support the transfer of data among thehardware devices. The BIOS is stored in some type of read-only-memory,such as ROM, PROM, EPROM, EEPROM or the like, so that the BIOS can beexecuted when the computer 800 is activated.

When the computer 800 is in operation, the processor 810 is configuredto execute software stored within the memory 820, to communicate data toand from the memory 820, and to generally control operations of thecomputer 800 pursuant to the software. The application 860 and the O/S850 are read, in whole or in part, by the processor 810, perhapsbuffered within the processor 810, and then executed.

When the application 860 is implemented in software it should be notedthat the application 860 can be stored on virtually any computerreadable medium for use by or in connection with any computer relatedsystem or method. In the context of this document, a computer readablemedium may be an electronic, magnetic, optical, or other physical deviceor means that can contain or store a computer program for use by or inconnection with a computer related system or method.

The application 860 can be embodied in any computer-readable medium foruse by or in connection with an instruction execution system, apparatus,or device, such as a computer-based system, processor-containing system,or other system that can fetch the instructions from the instructionexecution system, apparatus, or device and execute the instructions. Inthe context of this document, a “computer-readable medium” can be anymeans that can store, communicate, propagate, or transport the programfor use by or in connection with the instruction execution system,apparatus, or device. The computer readable medium can be, for examplebut not limited to, an electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic,infrared, or semiconductor system, apparatus, device, or propagationmedium.

The present invention may be a system, a method, and/or a computerprogram product. The computer program product may include a computerreadable storage medium (or media) having computer readable programinstructions thereon for causing a processor to carry out aspects of thepresent invention.

The computer readable storage medium can be a tangible device that canretain and store instructions for use by an instruction executiondevice. The computer readable storage medium may be, for example, but isnot limited to, an electronic storage device, a magnetic storage device,an optical storage device, an electromagnetic storage device, asemiconductor storage device, or any suitable combination of theforegoing. A non-exhaustive list of more specific examples of thecomputer readable storage medium includes the following: a portablecomputer diskette, a hard disk, a random access memory (RAM), aread-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROMor Flash memory), a static random access memory (SRAM), a portablecompact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), a digital versatile disk (DVD),a memory stick, a floppy disk, a mechanically encoded device such aspunch-cards or raised structures in a groove having instructionsrecorded thereon, and any suitable combination of the foregoing. Acomputer readable storage medium, as used herein, is not to be construedas being transitory signals per se, such as radio waves or other freelypropagating electromagnetic waves, electromagnetic waves propagatingthrough a waveguide or other transmission media (e.g., light pulsespassing through a fiber-optic cable), or electrical signals transmittedthrough a wire.

Computer readable program instructions described herein can bedownloaded to respective computing/processing devices from a computerreadable storage medium or to an external computer or external storagedevice via a network, for example, the Internet, a local area network, awide area network and/or a wireless network. The network may comprisecopper transmission cables, optical transmission fibers, wirelesstransmission, routers, firewalls, switches, gateway computers and/oredge servers. A network adapter card or network interface in eachcomputing/processing device receives computer readable programinstructions from the network and forwards the computer readable programinstructions for storage in a computer readable storage medium withinthe respective computing/processing device.

Computer readable program instructions for carrying out operations ofthe present invention may be assembler instructions,instruction-set-architecture (ISA) instructions, machine instructions,machine dependent instructions, microcode, firmware instructions,state-setting data, or either source code or object code written in anycombination of one or more programming languages, including an objectoriented programming language such as Smalltalk, C++ or the like, andconventional procedural programming languages, such as the “C”programming language or similar programming languages. The computerreadable program instructions may execute entirely on the user'scomputer, partly on the user's computer, as a stand-alone softwarepackage, partly on the user's computer and partly on a remote computeror entirely on the remote computer or server. In the latter scenario,the remote computer may be connected to the user's computer through anytype of network, including a local area network (LAN) or a wide areanetwork (WAN), or the connection may be made to an external computer(for example, through the Internet using an Internet Service Provider).In some embodiments, electronic circuitry including, for example,programmable logic circuitry, field-programmable gate arrays (FPGA), orprogrammable logic arrays (PLA) may execute the computer readableprogram instructions by utilizing state information of the computerreadable program instructions to personalize the electronic circuitry,in order to perform aspects of the present invention.

Aspects of the present invention are described herein with reference toflowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams of methods, apparatus(systems), and computer program products according to embodiments of theinvention. It will be understood that each block of the flowchartillustrations and/or block diagrams, and combinations of blocks in theflowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, can be implemented bycomputer readable program instructions.

These computer readable program instructions may be provided to aprocessor of a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, orother programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, suchthat the instructions, which execute via the processor of the computeror other programmable data processing apparatus, create means forimplementing the functions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or blockdiagram block or blocks. These computer readable program instructionsmay also be stored in a computer readable storage medium that can directa computer, a programmable data processing apparatus, and/or otherdevices to function in a particular manner, such that the computerreadable storage medium having instructions stored therein comprises anarticle of manufacture including instructions which implement aspects ofthe function/act specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram blockor blocks.

The computer readable program instructions may also be loaded onto acomputer, other programmable data processing apparatus, or other deviceto cause a series of operational steps to be performed on the computer,other programmable apparatus or other device to produce a computerimplemented process, such that the instructions which execute on thecomputer, other programmable apparatus, or other device implement thefunctions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block orblocks.

The flowchart and block diagrams in the Figures illustrate thearchitecture, functionality, and operation of possible implementationsof systems, methods, and computer program products according to variousembodiments of the present invention. In this regard, each block in theflowchart or block diagrams may represent a module, segment, or portionof instructions, which comprises one or more executable instructions forimplementing the specified logical function(s). In some alternativeimplementations, the functions noted in the block may occur out of theorder noted in the figures. For example, two blocks shown in successionmay, in fact, be executed substantially concurrently, or the blocks maysometimes be executed in the reverse order, depending upon thefunctionality involved. It will also be noted that each block of theblock diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, and combinations of blocksin the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, can be implementedby special purpose hardware-based systems that perform the specifiedfunctions or acts or carry out combinations of special purpose hardwareand computer instructions.

The description has been presented for purposes of illustration anddescription, and is not intended to be exhaustive or limited to theinvention in the form disclosed. Many modifications and variations willbe apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art. Embodiments have beenchosen and described in order to best explain principles of proposedembodiments, practical application(s), and to enable others of ordinaryskill in the art to understand various embodiments with variousmodifications are contemplated.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A method for monitoring the liquid and/orfood consumption of a person with a computer system, the computer systemcomprising a processor, wherein the method comprises: automaticallyreceiving, by the computer system and from a sensor, valuescorresponding to a weight of a person before and after the use of atoilet; automatically detecting, using the computer system, a change inweight of the person resultant from the person's use of a toilet; anddetermining, using the computer system, a value representative of atleast one of the liquid consumption and the food consumption based onthe detected change in weight of the person.
 2. The method of claim 1,wherein the step of determining a value representative of at least oneof liquid consumption and food consumption of the person is furtherbased on at least one of: a value representative of weight lost byperspiration of the person; a value representative of weight lost byrespiration of the person; a value representative of reference weight;one or more previously detected values of weight of the person; one ormore previously detected changes in weight of the person; and one ormore previously determined values representative of preceding liquid orfood consumption of the person.
 3. The method of claim 2, wherein thevalue representative of the at least one of the liquid consumption andthe food consumption of the person is equal to, or is further based onthe sum of: the detected change in weight of the person resultant fromthe person's use of the toilet; the value representative of thereference weight; the value representative of weight lost byperspiration of the person.
 4. The method of claim 2, furthercomprising: comparing the determined value representative of the atleast one of liquid consumption and the food consumption with athreshold value; and generating a warning signal based on the comparisonresult.
 5. The method of claim 4, further comprising, before the step ofcomparing the determined value representative of the at least one liquidconsumption and the food consumption, the step of determining thethreshold value based on at least one of: one or more previouslydetermined values representative of preceding liquid or food consumptionof the person; one or more previously detected changes in weight of theperson; and one or more previously detected values of weight of theperson.
 6. The method of claim 1 wherein the step of automaticallydetecting a change of weight of the person resultant from the person'suse of the toilet comprises: detecting a weight of the person before andafter a single usage of the toilet.
 7. A computer program product formonitoring the liquid and/or food consumption of a person, wherein thecomputer program product comprises computer-readable program code storedon a computer-readable medium or downloadable from a communicationsnetwork, which when executed by a processor, the computer-readableprogram code is configured to perform all of the steps of claim 1 whenexecuted.
 8. A system for monitoring the liquid and/or food consumptionof a person, wherein the system comprises: a data processing unitadapted to: automatically receive values corresponding to a weight of aperson before and after the use of a toilet; automatically detect achange in weight of the person resultant from the person's use of atoilet; and determine a value (Win) representative of at least one ofthe liquid consumption and the food consumption of the person based onthe detected change in weight of the person.
 9. The system of claim 8,wherein the data processing unit is further adapted to determine thevalue representative of at least one of the liquid consumption and thefood consumption of the person further based on at least one of: a valuerepresentative of weight lost by perspiration of the person; a valuerepresentative of weight lost by respiration of the person; a valuerepresentative of a reference weight; one or more previously detectedvalues of weight of the person; one or more previously detected changesin weight of the person; and one or more previously determined valuesrepresentative of preceding liquid or food consumption of the person.10. The system of claim 9, wherein the data processing unit is furtheradapted to determine the value representative of the at least one of theliquid consumption and the food consumption of the person as equal to,or as further based on the sum of: the detected change in weight of theperson resultant from the person's use of the toilet; the valuerepresentative of the reference weight; the value representative ofweight lost by perspiration of the person.
 11. The system of claim 8,wherein the data processing unit is further adapted to: compare thedetermined value representative of at least one of the liquidconsumption and the food consumption with a threshold value; and togenerate a warning signal based on the result of the comparison.
 12. Thesystem of claim 11, wherein the threshold value is determined based onat least one of: one or more previously determined values representativeof preceding liquid or food consumption of the person; one or morepreviously detected changes in weight of the person; and one or morepreviously detected values of weight of the person.
 13. The system ofclaim 8, further comprising a weight sensing system adapted to: detect aweight of the person before and after a single usage of the toilet andto determine data related to the change in weight of the personresultant from the person's use of the toilet based on the detectedweight of the person before and after the single usage of the toilet.14. The system of claim 13, wherein the weight sensing system is adaptedto: be part of the toilet such that it is capable of detecting theweight of a person when the person is sitting on the toilet before andafter the person's usage, or be positioned in front of the toilet sothat it is stood on by the person before and after the person's usage ofthe toilet.
 15. A system for monitoring the liquid and/or foodconsumption of a person, wherein the system comprises: a data processingunit adapted to: automatically detect a change in weight of the personresultant from the person's use of a toilet; and determine a value (Win)representative of at least one of the liquid consumption and the foodconsumption of the person based on the detected change in weight of theperson; and a server device for communication with a remote clientdevice including a weight sensing system as defined in claim 13, whereinthe server device comprises: a communication link for receiving datarelated to a detected change in weight of the person resultant from theperson's use of the toilet from the client device, the data beingsuitable for the data processing unit to provide or obtain the currentvalue representative of the change in weight of the person.
 16. Thesystem of claim 15 comprising the client device, wherein the clientdevice comprises: a communication link for transmitting the data relatedto a change in weight of the person resultant from usage of a toilet bythe person resultant from the person's use of the toilet.
 17. The systemof claim 8, comprising a client device, for communication with a serverdevice, wherein the client device comprises: the data processing unit;and a communication link for transmitting the value representative of atleast one of the liquid consumption and the food consumption of theperson.
 18. The system of claim 17 comprising the server device, whereinthe server device comprises a communication link for receiving the valuerepresentative of at least one of the liquid consumption and the foodconsumption of the person.
 19. The system of claim 8, comprising afurther data processing unit adapted to generate a control signal for adisplay device, the control signal comprising instructions fordisplaying a graphical element that represents the determined valuerepresentative of the at least one of the liquid consumption and thefood consumption of the person.
 20. A method for monitoring the liquidand/or food consumption of a person with a computer system, the computersystem comprising a processor, wherein the method comprises:automatically receiving, by the computer system and from a sensor,values corresponding to a weight of a person before and after the use ofa toilet; automatically detecting, using the computer system, a changein weight of the person resultant from the person's use of a toilet;determining, using the computer system, a reference weight of the personand a value representative of weight lost by respiration andperspiration of the person; determining, using the computer system, avalue representative of at least one of the liquid consumption and thefood consumption based on the detected change in weight, the referenceweight and the value representative of weight lost by respiration andperspiration of the person; and generating, using the computer system, acontrol signal for a display device, the control signal includinginstructions for displaying a graphical element that represents thedetermined value representative of the at least one of the liquidconsumption and the food consumption of the person.
 21. The method ofclaim 20, wherein the value representative of weight lost by respirationand perspiration of the person is determined based on a body size of theperson and environmental conditions of an environment associated withthe person.
 22. The method of claim 20, wherein automatically receivingthe values corresponding to the weight of the person includes: receivinga signal from a location sensor associated with the person, determining,based on the signal, the person is located near the toilet, andconfirming, based on the determining, the received values correspond tothe person.